Boston Fan killed by Police = Mega wrongful death suit?

[Kirby]

What a tragedy. This is one of the very few times I can agree with a lawsuit....

Woman killed by projectile fired to disperse crowds

Friday, October 22, 2004 Posted: 3:54 AM EDT (0754 GMT)

(CNN) -- The Boston Police Department "accepts full responsibility" for the death of a 21-year-old college student killed by a police projectile fired to disperse crowds celebrating the Boston Red Sox victory over the New York Yankees.

Preliminary findings indicate that Victoria Snelgrove, a journalism student at Emerson College, was hit in the eye by a projectile that disperses pepper spray on impact, Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said Thursday.

Snelgrove died at 12:50 p.m. at Brigham and Women's Hospital, hours after the overnight melee.

"The Boston Police Department is devastated by this tragedy. This terrible event should never have happened," O'Toole told reporters. "The Boston Police Department accepts full responsibility for the death of Victoria Snelgrove."

 

[jrt67ss350]

Yep, I see a major lawsuit coming. From what I heard on the news this morning, the girl wasn't even doing anything wrong - some trigger-happy cop just started firing indiscriminately into the crowd.

 

[tool fan]

Jail time? Probably not.......... What a sad world we live in

 

[Big Daddy]

"some trigger-happy cop just started firing indiscriminately into the crowd", I think I will wait for an iinvestigation before I condem anyone.

 

[jrt67ss350]

"some trigger-happy cop just started firing indiscriminately into the crowd", I think I will wait for an iinvestigation before I condem anyone.

Probably a poor choice of words. That's basically what the people that were at the scene were saying. Just relaying what I heard on the news this morning. Obviously, I don't know any more about what happened in Boston than you do.

 

[Kirby]

"some trigger-happy cop just started firing indiscriminately into the crowd", I think I will wait for an iinvestigation before I condem anyone.

I doubt it was a trigger happy cop. I tend to "sympathize" with the job law enforcement officers have to face. My brother in law and my brother's brother in law were/are police officers.

It's just that this was a "predictable" riot - crazy sports fans, as opposed to known insurgents (i.e. the Philadelphia MOVE debacle or that compound in Texas) or other truly violent rioters. As such, I think that police departments need to have different policies. They used lethal force - after all, ANY projectile fired from a gun can be lethal, bullet or otherwise.

Why was the tear gas charge shot directly into the crowd? It could likely be deployed just as effectively by firing at walls, signs, or other objects above the crowd, or at the feet of the mob. Firing at head level is ridiculous. A basic policy stating such might have avoided this tragedy.

 

[Big Daddy]

"Why was the tear gas charge shot directly into the crowd? It could likely be deployed just as effectively by firing at walls, signs, or other objects above the crowd, or at the feet of the mob. Firing at head level is ridiculous. A basic policy stating such might have avoided this tragedy."

I agree with you on this one, but my point was we do not know, as jrt67ss350 has stated. Maybe the round was fired into a wall or at the feet of the crowd and failed to disperse properly bouncing off and striking the poor victim. Unfortunately even the best intentions result in tragic results at times.

Not placing blame or making excuses, but why does law enforcement have to deal with "fans" braking windows, destroying property and attempting to overturn cars? Celebrate your teams victory, do not destroy it!

 

[jrt67ss350]

Not placing blame or making excuses, but why does law enforcement have to deal with "fans" braking windows, destroying property and attempting to overturn cars? Celebrate your teams victory, do not destroy it!

I wonder the same thing. It seems like it's a big fad now to destroy your town after your team wins. I don't ever remember this kind of stuff happening years ago, but maybe I was just too young to know what was going on.

 

[gizzy]

"some trigger-happy cop just started firing indiscriminately into the crowd", I think I will wait for an iinvestigation before I condem anyone.

I have to agree that we need to wait for an investigation. From everything that I have read so far about the incedent though, I would have to side with the PD for now. I think that there is begining to be to much of an assumption that the police and security forces are to protect us from tragedies and that there should be no personal accountability anymore. (I might tell you about a personal incedent with this when I was working as a security guard at a hotel). Any type of force, has a potential of being fatal regardless of what is used.

Kirby, where do you get that tear gas was dispersed? All I have seen is that is was an object, similar to a paint ball that contained pepper spray. This is also a large crowd, were they even near a wall or other object that an officer could aim at? We currently have no idea how violent the crowd was at this time either. Do we really know that this girl was not participating with the crowd? After all, she was in the crowd, was she not?

 

[Big Daddy]

I think Kirby agrees with the last few posts, I think when he made the comment about shooting into the vcrowd and the wall comment he was thinking out loud.

jrt67ss350 I too do not understand it. I saw vandalism growing, but never took part as I could not understand why? We have a catch 22 situation, we pay law enforcement (taxes) to protect us and enforce laws, we than "riot" and expect them to quell the riot (paying them with taxes), then when someone gets hurt or something malfunctions we sue the city who pays up (with taxes). gizzy hit the nail on the head, "personal accountability", we are all victims.

 

[epj3]

I think they should pay me a lot of money to develop non-lethal weapons.

 

[Kirby]

I think Kirby agrees with the last few posts, I think when he made the comment about shooting into the vcrowd and the wall comment he was thinking out loud.
.

Right on Big Daddy. I agree with all of the above. Certainly the police need to take action, and there is no justification or rationale as to why the violence occurs, other than "Mass Hysteria". It's likely that any one of the people involved would never do that destruction alone, but the Mass Hysteria takes over.

Gizzy, I was generalizing regarding tear gas. You're right, I think it was pepper spray which is similar to but certainly not the the same as tear gas. Pepper spray is is like spraying the bees, tear gas is like fumigating a building.

We don't know if the girl was or wasn't participating, but one article I read said that she was a bystander. Just because she was there doesn't mean she was participating. I have found myself unintentionally in a similar situation at a hockey game, it took about 3 minutes before I could get out of the area!